Beach babes in Jamaica, Spain or other parts of Europe flaunting their perfectly toned and tanned legs will likely not know this, but their hand-embroidered Brazilian bikinis have been designed and manufactured by an electronics and telecommunications engineer based in Pune in western India.
However, Minal Joshi, 30, is not thinking bikinis right now. Late last year, she launched Uzazi Fashion Pvt. Ltd, a range of fashion apparel for pregnant women. She says she cannot understand why hundreds of thousands of expecting mothers in urban India are reconciled to wearing ungainly clothes that do little for their expanding girth, and even less for their morale. Uzazi has launched a range of garments for pregnant women—work clothes, party wear, even gym clothes.
“It is fashionable to show off your pregnancy bump,” says the mother of two whose bright idea for maternity wear came from the fact that she had to go through her first pregnancy in unflattering nightgown-style garments—the only kind of clothes available in the country for pregnant women. “I hated going to work in sacks, so I decided to fashion clothes for myself that made me feel good about my generous figure, and also lent me support where I need it,” says Joshi.
The clothes caught the attention of friends and neighbours in the middle-class Maharashtrian locality where the family lived. Before she knew it, she was gifting her maternity clothes to friends for their baby showers.
A brainstorming session with husband Xitij, also an engineer, and countless visits to shops and malls all over the country soon convinced her that maternity wear could become a profitable business for one simple reason: There were no national brands.
Uzazi, which translates into bright and evident joy, is perhaps the only indigenous brand of maternity wear currently available.
The label works around the theory that pregnancy is something to be flaunted, not hidden under voluminous salwar kameezes.
And so, Joshi, with help from a few designers, launched clothes for pregnant women that mirror what they would otherwise wear: trousers, skirts, jeans, capris, gym clothes, even party wear, including a midnight-blue party gown with a plunging neckline that is a particular favourite with customers.
Uzazi has a flagship store in Pune’s upmarket M.G. Road, and stores in Mumbai and Pune. It is also available in other multi-brand stores and chains, it is in the final stages of tying up with two chains, but everything will be settled around the Diwali festive season). “Women are coming into the store and asking us to make styles which they have fantasized about, or seen on thinner women,” says Joshi.
She isn’t the only one eyeing the market. Last year, Shopper’s Stop Ltd entered into an alliance with Mothercare to launch a range of apparel and merchandise for mothers and children. And at least two popular designers showcased an entire range of maternity wear on the catwalk at fashion shows in New Delhi in 2006.